Cognitive behaviour therapy re-examined: Problems and implications

Abstract

Over recent years the cognitive behavioural approach to therapy has become important in the management and treatment of emotional dysfunction. However, the therapeutic efficacy of cognitive behaviour therapy and the validity of its underlying assumptions have been called into question by recent research. The wide disparity between the theoretical base of cognitive behaviour therapy practitioners on the one hand, and their clinical strategies on the other, highlights the need for a more systematic approach to the treatment of emotional disorders and the development of related theories. Presented is an overview of the current status of cognitive behaviour therapy, theory and practice, drawing particular attention to the problems associated with the way in which cognitive behaviour therapy has developed historically. The problematic issues arising out of this developmental dilemma, such as paradigmatic uncertainty and the method of theory building, and their implications for the future development of cognitive behaviour therapy, are discussed.